The grandson of a Ghana king and a 19-year-old programmer in Atlanta both agree on one thing: The Western world doesn't understand Africa. Their solution? Make a video game about the continent.

In December, "Africa" the video game will join the universe of massive multiplayer online realms like "World of Warcraft" and "City of Heroes." The game's backers hope players will be enticed to pay a monthly fee not to live among the usual fantasy heroes and elves but to delve into a land of 13th century African civilization and mythology, crossing the virtual Sahara on a camel, journeying to Timbuktu and fighting as a Zulu warrior against the lion equivalent of a werewolf.

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"Africa" will be a vessel for Ghetti and Spaight's ambition. They want a virtual world that functions dynamically: antelope that find new pastures when grassland is scorched, drum music fully customizable by players and used — as in real ancient Africa — as an alternate langue. They want players to be able to become famous and change the map. More flexible than the mostly developer-controlled "World of Warcraft" but more restrained than the free-living "Second Life," "Africa" would let a tribe of 100 players establish their own officially recognized empire, but only after the equivalent of 12 hours of play across 48 weeks. For the less hard-core, play can be done casually as a fighter, merchant, musician or even a human who can turn into a bird.

The grandson of a Ghana king and a 19-year-old programmer in Atlanta both agree on one thing: The Western world doesn't understand Africa. Their solution? Make a video game about the continent.

In December, "Africa" the video game will join the universe of massive multiplayer online realms like "World of Warcraft" and "City of Heroes." The game's backers hope players will be enticed to pay a monthly fee not to live among the usual fantasy heroes and elves but to delve into a land of 13th century African civilization and mythology, crossing the virtual Sahara on a camel, journeying to Timbuktu and fighting as a Zulu warrior against the lion equivalent of a werewolf.

...

"Africa" will be a vessel for Ghetti and Spaight's ambition. They want a virtual world that functions dynamically: antelope that find new pastures when grassland is scorched, drum music fully customizable by players and used — as in real ancient Africa — as an alternate langue. They want players to be able to become famous and change the map. More flexible than the mostly developer-controlled "World of Warcraft" but more restrained than the free-living "Second Life," "Africa" would let a tribe of 100 players establish their own officially recognized empire, but only after the equivalent of 12 hours of play across 48 weeks. For the less hard-core, play can be done casually as a fighter, merchant, musician or even a human who can turn into a bird.

Wow, what an amazing concept. It's educational and offers cultural insight on Africa in a way seldom seen.

Personally, I love video games... I always hated how most of them had the hero a white man. The ones where you can choose what you look like, (which is becoming more popular especially in American games), are better but still you're romping around in European medieval fantasy.

This is the direction Africans and African Americans need to take... making our own forms of entertainment to counteract all of the negative images out there. I hope others follow suit.